The present invention is directed to an improved body bolster center plate/center filler for a railway freight car. Conventional underframes of railway freight cars are supported on the truck therebelow by a pair of body bolster center plate/center filler constructions, the lower circular portion of each center plate being received within one of a pair of mating pivot-bowls mounted on the truck. Each center filler is integrally formed with the center plate, and is received within a square-shaped pocket formed at the intersection of the underframe's body bolster and center sill, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,664,269. As disclosed in that patent, the combined center plate/center filler is secured to the body bolster and center sill by welding about the upper, square-shaped cross-sectional portion of the center plate, which upper portion is provided with sloped or canted surfaces about portions of the circumference thereof, which thereby welds the upper portion of the center plate to the undersurfaces of the side and tie plates forming the square-shaped pocket at the intersection of the body bolster and center sill. The center plate of the above-identified patent is also provided with four corner pads or vertically-projecting alignment surfaces which orient the square-shaped cross-sectional center filler within the square-shaped pocket, which alignment pads abut against the undersurfaces of the lowermost corners of the square-shaped pocket for positioning purposes. The canted or sloped surfaces on the upper, square-shaped portion of the center plate are located between the alignment pads, thereby allowing for a welded joint between the undersurfaces of the plates of the square-shaped pocket and the sloped surfaces of the upper portion of the center plate. However, the center plate/center filler disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,664,269 suffers from the disadvantage of not allowing for the welding of the center plate to the undersurfaces of the square-shaped pocket by an automatic or robotic welder, since the welding about the plate is not carried out along the entire circumferential surface of the upper portion of the center plate, since neither the alignment pads themselves, nor the portion of the center plate associated with each alignment pad, offer a surface by which the center plate may be welded to the undersurfaces of the pocket plates defined thereat. This not only prevents a continuous operation of welding the center plate to the undersurfaces of the pocket, which prolongs and complicates the welding procedure, but also creates stress points along certain portions of the weldment adjacent to the alignment pads. Even in the case of welding the center plate to the square-shaped pocket undersurfaces by using a manual method rather than a robotic welding procedure, the welding gun must bypass each of the corner positioning pads by interrupting the welding process, and avoiding the obstacles created by the alignment pads themselves, since weldment thereat cannot be carried out.